Vehicle management system and commercial facility management system

ABSTRACT

A vehicle management system includes a vehicle controller mountable in a vehicle, and a commercial facility management system for managing a parking lot and payment in a commercial facility. The commercial facility management system includes a system controller. The system controller performs processing for associating the vehicle with a user of the vehicle when the vehicle enters the parking lot, and cooperates with the vehicle controller of the vehicle associated with the user to control the vehicle to travel from a parking place to a pick-up/drop-off place for the user when the user finishes payment.

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/167,454, filed Oct. 22, 2018, which is based on Japanese PatentApplication No. 2017-206221 filed on Oct. 25, 2017 with the Japan PatentOffice, the entire contents of both which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle management system and acommercial facility management system, and in particular to a vehiclemanagement system and a commercial facility management system suitablefor a parking lot in a commercial facility.

Description of the Background Art

Conventionally, there has been a system which allows a user to designatea scheduled departure time and thereby enables a vehicle of the user toautomatically travel to a getting-in place at the scheduled departuretime (Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-176468).

SUMMARY

However, in the system of Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-176468,the user designates the scheduled departure time with time to spare,because the user does not know exactly when the user will finish paymentfor shopping. Accordingly, it is highly likely that there occurs awaiting time from when the user finishes payment for shopping until whenthe user gets in the vehicle.

The present disclosure has been made to solve such a problem, and anobject thereof is to provide a vehicle management system and acommercial facility management system capable of reducing a waiting timefrom when a user finishes payment until when the user gets in a vehicle.

A vehicle management system for managing a vehicle in accordance withthe present disclosure includes a vehicle controller mountable in thevehicle, and a commercial facility management system for managing aparking lot and payment in a commercial facility. The commercialfacility management system includes a system controller. The systemcontroller is configured to perform processing for associating thevehicle with a user of the vehicle when the vehicle enters the parkinglot, and cooperate with the vehicle controller of the vehicle associatedwith the user to control the vehicle to travel from a parking place to apick-up/drop-off place for the user when the user finishes payment.

With such a configuration, the vehicle of the user travels to thepick-up/drop-off place when the user finishes payment. As a result, avehicle management system capable of reducing a waiting time from when auser finishes payment until when the user gets in a vehicle can beprovided.

Preferably, the system controller is configured to cooperate with thevehicle controller of the vehicle to control the vehicle to travel fromthe pick-up/drop-off place to the parking place when the vehicle entersthe parking lot. With such a configuration, the user does not have todrive the vehicle also when parking the vehicle.

Preferably, the commercial facility management system further includes astorage. The system controller is configured to perform storageprocessing for storing identification information of the vehicle andidentification information of the user in association with each other inthe storage, as the processing for associating the vehicle with the userof the vehicle. Such a configuration can reliably associate theidentification information of the user with the identificationinformation of the vehicle of the user.

Further preferably, the system controller is configured to obtain theidentification information of the user stored beforehand in a recordingmedium of the user, and obtain the identification information of thevehicle stored beforehand in a storage of the vehicle, to perform thestorage processing. With such a configuration, the identificationinformation of the user and the identification information of thevehicle of the user can be accurately obtained.

Further preferably, the system controller is configured to obtain theidentification information of the vehicle of the user stored beforehandin the recording medium of the user, and perform the storage processingwhen the identification information obtained from the recording mediummatches the identification information obtained from the vehicle. Such aconfiguration can prevent a vehicle which is not the vehicle of the userfrom being associated with the user.

Preferably, when the user stands in a waiting line for payment, thesystem controller is configured to obtain identification information ofthe user stored beforehand in a recording medium of the user, estimate atime at which the user will finish payment, and control the vehicle toarrive at the pick-up/drop-off place at the estimated time. With such aconfiguration, the vehicle of the user can arrive at thepick-up/drop-off place when the user finishes payment. As a result, thewaiting time from when the user finishes payment until when the usergets in the vehicle can be further reduced.

A commercial facility management system in accordance with anotheraspect of the present disclosure manages a parking lot and payment in acommercial facility. The commercial facility management system includesa controller. The controller is configured to perform processing forassociating a vehicle with a user of the vehicle when the vehicle entersthe parking lot, and cooperate with the vehicle associated with the userto control the vehicle to travel from a parking place to apick-up/drop-off place for the user when the user finishes payment.

With such a configuration, a commercial facility management systemcapable of reducing a waiting time from when a user finishes paymentuntil when the user gets in a vehicle can be provided.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent disclosure will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present disclosure when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing an exemplary layout of a commercial facilitywhere a vehicle management system in accordance with the presentembodiment is used.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing an entire configuration of thevehicle management system in accordance with the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of a vehicle,a parking-lot management server, and a payment management serverincluded in the vehicle management system in accordance with the presentembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by theparking-lot management server and the payment management server of thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view for illustrating user vehicle information stored in theparking-lot management server of the present embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedin detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted thatidentical or corresponding parts in the drawings will be designated bythe same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not berepeated.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an exemplary layout of a commercial facilitywhere a vehicle management system 1 in accordance with the presentembodiment is used. Referring to FIG. 1, within the area of thecommercial facility serving as an example are arranged a store 10, aparking lot provided with a plurality of parking spaces 12, andpick-up/drop-off places 11 for vehicles 100 adjacent to store 10. Theinside of the parking lot is designed such that vehicle 100 going towarda parking space 12 and vehicle 100 exiting a parking space 12 can travelin one-way traffic. While vehicle 100 may have any type of motive powersource such as an internal combustion engine or a motor generator, it isassumed in the present embodiment that vehicle 100 is an electricvehicle.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing an entire configuration ofvehicle management system 1 in accordance with the present embodiment.Referring to FIG. 2, vehicle management system 1 includes a plurality ofvehicles 100, a parking-lot management server 200 which manages theparking lot in the commercial facility, and a payment management server300 which manages payment in the commercial facility. Parking-lotmanagement server 200 and payment management server 300 are connectedthrough a LAN (Local Area Network). Vehicle 100 and parking-lotmanagement server 200 are configured to establish direct wirelesscommunication therebetween, and are connected through a wireless LAN,for example. It should be noted that vehicle 100 and parking-lotmanagement server 200 may be configured to communicate with each othervia a server which manages communication of the plurality of vehicles100. Further, when vehicle 100 and parking-lot management server 200communicate with each other, it is preferable for each of them to checkwhether its communication partner is authorized.

At least one entry acceptance card reader 290 which accepts a user'smembership card 191 when the user enters the parking lot is connected toparking-lot management server 200. Entry acceptance card reader 290 isplaced near pick-up/drop-off place 11. At least one payment card reader390 which accepts the user's membership card 191 when the user makespayment is connected to payment management server 300. Payment cardreader 390 is placed at an entrance of a waiting line in a payment placewithin store 10.

It should be noted that membership card 191 may be a magnetic card, acard having a bar code, a two-dimensional code, or the like printedthereon, or a contact or non-contact IC (Integrated Circuit) card.Further, instead of membership card 191, a mobile terminal such as asmart phone which can be used as membership card 191 by installing anapplication program (hereinafter also referred to as an “application”)for members of the commercial facility may be used. In the case of usinga mobile terminal, non-contact communication such as NFC (Near fieldradio communication) which can be established by activating theapplication may be used, or a two-dimensional code may be displayed in adisplay device. Entry acceptance card reader 290 and payment card reader390 only need to support the formats of membership card 191 and themobile terminal used instead of membership card 191.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of vehicle100, parking-lot management server 200, and payment management server300 included in vehicle management system 1 in accordance with thepresent embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, vehicle 100 includes a controldevice 110, a communication device 130, an automated driving device 160,and a navigation device 180. Control device 110, communication device130, automated driving device 160, and navigation device 180 areconnected with each other through a wired, vehicle-mounted network 190such as a CAN (Controller Area Network).

Communication device 130 transmits and receives data to and from anexternal device (for example, parking-lot management server 200), usinga predetermined protocol. Communication device 130 transmits datareceived from a device connected to vehicle-mounted network 190, such ascontrol device 110, to the outside, or passes data received from theoutside to a device connected to vehicle-mounted network 190, such ascontrol device 110.

Navigation device 180 includes a controller 181 for controlling entirenavigation device 180, a storage 182 for storing predeterminedinformation, an operation device 183 for operating navigation device180, an informer 184 for informing predetermined information ofnavigation device 180 through display and voice, and a position detector189 for detecting a position.

Storage 182 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a workspacenecessary to execute a program by controller 181, and a ROM (Read OnlyMemory) for storing the program to be executed by controller 181. Inaddition, in the RAM, programs and data for executing predeterminedprocessing are read from the ROM or the like and are stored. Further, arecording medium such as a memory card may be used as an auxiliarystorage device for assisting a storage area of the RAM.

Operation device 183 includes a plurality of operation buttons forcausing navigation device 180 to perform a predetermined function, and atouch panel formed on a display of informer 184. An operation signalindicating operation contents input into navigation device 180 byoperating the operation buttons and the touch panel of operation device183 is passed to controller 181.

Informer 184 includes a liquid crystal display device (hereinafterreferred to as an “LCD”) having the display, on which the touch panel isformed, and a speaker. The LCD of informer 184 displays an imagereceived from controller 181 indicating information for navigatingvehicle 100 and the operation buttons of the touch panel, and the like.It should be noted that informer 184 may include another FPD (Flat PanelDisplay) such as an EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, instead of anLCD. The speaker of informer 184 outputs a voice signal received fromcontroller 181 as voice.

Position detector 189 detects the position of the vehicle based on anelectric wave from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, andpasses the detected position information to controller 181.

Controller 181 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and an auxiliarycircuit thereof. Controller 181 controls storage 182, operation device183, informer 184, and position detector 189, performs predeterminedprocessing according to the programs and data stored in storage 182,processes data input from operation device 183 or other devicesconnected to vehicle-mounted network 190 (for example, automated drivingdevice 160, control device 110, communication device 130, and the like),and causes the processed data to be stored in storage 182, to beinformed by informer 184, or to be output to the other devices.

Specifically, controller 181 performs a variety of navigation processingfor vehicle 100 using the position information (GPS information) ofvehicle 100 detected by position detector 189. More specifically,controller 181 controls informer 184 to calculate a traveling route (ascheduled traveling route or a target route) for vehicle 100 from thepresent location to a destination based on the GPS information ofvehicle 100 and road map data stored in storage 182, display informationon the target route, and output the information as voice.

Automated driving device 160 is configured to perform automated drivingof vehicle 100. The term “automated driving” refers to control by whichdriving operations of vehicle 100 such as acceleration, deceleration,and steering are performed without driving operations by a driver ofvehicle 100. Automated driving includes lane keeping support control andnavigation control, for example. In the lane keeping support control, asteering wheel (not shown) is automatically steered to allow vehicle 100to travel along a driving lane without deviating from the driving lane.In the navigation control, for example, when there is no leading vehicleahead of vehicle 100, constant speed control which allows vehicle 100 totravel at a preset constant speed is performed, whereas when there is aleading vehicle ahead of vehicle 100, following control which adjuststhe vehicle speed of vehicle 100 depending on the distance to theleading vehicle is performed.

More specifically, automated driving device 160 is configured to performunattended driving (fully automated driving) defined as so-called “Level5”. That is, in the automated driving by automated driving device 160,the driver does not need to get in and operate the vehicle under all thesituations. Accordingly, vehicle 100 can be automatically forwarded.Automated driving device 160 includes an external sensor 162 configuredto detect a situation outside vehicle 100, and an internal sensor 163configured to detect information corresponding to a traveling state ofvehicle 100 and detect a steering operation, an accelerating operation,and a braking operation.

External sensor 162 includes a camera, a radar, and a LIDAR (LaserImaging Detection and Ranging) (all not shown), for example. The camerashoots an image of the situation outside vehicle 100, and outputsshot-image information regarding the situation outside vehicle 100 tocontrol device 110. The radar transmits an electric wave (for example, amillimeter wave) to surroundings of vehicle 100, and receives anelectric wave reflected by an obstacle to detect the obstacle. The radaroutputs, for example, a distance to the obstacle and a direction of theobstacle, as obstacle information regarding the obstacle, to controldevice 110. The LIDAR transmits light (typically, ultraviolet rays,visible rays, or near infrared rays) to surroundings of vehicle 100 andreceives light reflected by an obstacle to measure a distance to areflecting point and detect the obstacle. The LIDAR outputs, forexample, a distance to the obstacle and a direction of the obstacle, asobstacle information, to control device 110.

Internal sensor 163 includes a vehicle speed sensor, an accelerationsensor, and a yaw rate sensor (all not shown), for example. The vehiclespeed sensor is provided at a wheel of vehicle 100, a drive shaft or atransmission rotated together with the wheel, or the like, detects arotating speed of the wheel, and outputs vehicle speed informationincluding the speed of vehicle 100 to control device 110. Theacceleration sensor includes a forward/backward acceleration sensorconfigured to detect acceleration in a forward/backward direction ofvehicle 100, and a lateral acceleration sensor configured to detectlateral acceleration of vehicle 100, for example. The accelerationsensor outputs acceleration information including both the accelerationsto control device 110. The yaw rate sensor detects a yaw rate (rotationangle speed) around the vertical axis of the center of gravity ofvehicle 100. The yaw rate sensor is, for example, a gyro sensor, andoutputs yaw rate information including the yaw rate of vehicle 100 tocontrol device 110.

Control device 110 is a so-called ECU (Electronic Control Unit), andincludes a controller 111 for controlling entire vehicle 100, and astorage 112 for storing predetermined information. Storage 112 is thesame as storage 182 of navigation device 180 described above, and thusan overlapped description thereof will not be repeated.

Controller 111 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and an auxiliarycircuit thereof. Controller 111 performs predetermined processingaccording to programs and data stored in storage 112, processes datainput from other devices connected to vehicle-mounted network 190 (forexample, communication device 130, automated driving device 160,navigation device 180, and the like), and causes the processed data tobe stored in storage 112, or to be output to the other devices.

Specifically, controller 111 controls devices such as a drive device fora motor generator in response to signals from sensors such as externalsensor 162 and internal sensor 163 of vehicle 100, such that vehicle 100enters a desired state.

Parking-lot management server 200 includes a controller 210, a storage220, a communication device 230, and an external storage device 250.Storage 220 and communication device 230 are the same as storage 112 ofcontrol device 110 and communication device 130 of vehicle 100 describedabove, and thus an overlapped description thereof will not be repeated.

External storage device 250 includes a storage device such as a harddisk drive, a flexible disk drive, an MO (Magneto-Optical disk) drive, aCD (Compact Disc) drive, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) drive, or amemory card reader writer. External storage device 250 magnetically,optically, or electrically records predetermined data or programreceived from controller 210 in a recording medium 251, or reads thedata or program from recording medium 251 and passes it to controller210. Examples of recording medium 251 include magnetic disks such as ahard disk and a flexible disk, optical disks such as a CD-ROM (CompactDisk Read Only Memory), a CD-R (Compact Disk Recordable), a CD-RW(Compact Disk ReWritable), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read OnlyMemory), a DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disk Recordable), a DVD-RW (DigitalVersatile Disk ReWritable), a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk RandomAccess Memory), a DVD+R, and a DVD+RW, magneto-optical disks such as anMO (Magneto-Optical disk), a memory card, and a USB (Universal SerialBus) memory.

Controller 210 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and an auxiliarycircuit thereof. Controller 210 controls storage 220, communicationdevice 230, and external storage device 250, performs predeterminedprocessing according to programs and data stored in storage 220,processes data input from communication device 230 and external storagedevice 250, and causes the processed data to be stored in storage 220,to be output from communication device 230 to other devices, or to bestored in recording medium 251 of external storage device 250.

It should be noted that, although parking-lot management server 200 doesnot include an operation device and a display device in the presentembodiment, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, andparking-lot management server 200 may include components of an operationdevice and a display device. The operation device includes a keyboardand a mouse, and an operation signal indicating operation contents inputinto parking-lot management server 200 by operating the keyboard and themouse of the operation device is passed to controller 210. The displaydevice includes an LCD, and the LCD displays an image corresponding toimage data received from controller 210.

Payment management server 300 includes a controller 310, a storage 320,a communication device 330, and an external storage device 350.Controller 310, storage 320, communication device 330, and externalstorage device 350 are the same as controller 210, storage 220,communication device 230, and external storage device 250, respectively,of parking-lot management server 200 described above, and thus anoverlapped description thereof will not be repeated.

According to a conventional system, there has been a system which allowsa user to designate a scheduled departure time and thereby enables avehicle of the user to automatically travel to a getting-in place at thescheduled departure time. However, in such a system, the user designatesthe scheduled departure time with time to spare, because the user doesnot know exactly when the user will finish payment for shopping.Accordingly, it is highly likely that there occurs a waiting time fromwhen the user finishes payment for shopping until when the user gets inthe vehicle.

Thus, in the present embodiment, vehicle management system 1 isconfigured to perform processing for associating vehicle 100 with a userof vehicle 100 when vehicle 100 enters the parking lot, and cooperatewith control device 110 of vehicle 100 associated with the user tocontrol vehicle 100 to travel from a parking place to a pick-up/drop-offplace for the user when the user finishes payment.

Thereby, vehicle 100 of the user travels to the pick-up/drop-off placewhen the user finishes payment. As a result, the waiting time from whenthe user finishes payment until when the user gets in vehicle 100 can bereduced.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed byparking-lot management server 200 and payment management server 300 ofthe present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, first, arrival acceptanceprocessing performed when a user arrives at a commercial facility bydriving vehicle 100 will be described.

Controller 210 of parking-lot management server 200 determines whetheror not the user's membership card 191 or mobile terminal having themembership application installed therein is accepted by entry acceptancecard reader 290 at pick-up/drop-off place 11 (S211). In membership card191 or the mobile terminal having the membership application installedtherein, a user ID for uniquely identifying the user as a member, and avehicle ID for uniquely identifying vehicle 100 of the user are storedbeforehand. When controller 210 determines that membership card 191 orthe mobile terminal having the membership application installed thereinis not accepted (NO in S211), controller 210 proceeds the processing tobe performed to S221.

On the other hand, when controller 210 determines that membership card191 or the mobile terminal having the membership application installedtherein is accepted (YES in S211), controller 210 obtains the vehicle IDof vehicle 100 from vehicle 100 (S212). The vehicle ID is storedbeforehand in storage 112 of control device 110 of vehicle 100. Itshould be noted that, when vehicle IDs are obtained from the pluralityof vehicles 100, processing for checking which of vehicles 100 the userdrives is performed. For example, entry acceptance card reader 290 isprovided with a display device having a touch panel, to displayinformation for specifying the plurality of vehicles 100 whose vehicleIDs are obtained, in the display device. The user touches information ofhis or her vehicle 100 displayed in the display device, to check vehicle100 the user drives.

Next, controller 210 obtains the user ID and the vehicle ID from theaccepted membership card 191 or mobile terminal having the membershipapplication installed therein (S213). Then, controller 210 determineswhether or not the vehicle ID obtained in S212 matches the vehicle IDobtained in S213 (S214). When controller 210 determines that the vehicleIDs do not match (NO in S214), controller 210 suspends the arrivalacceptance processing, and proceeds the processing to be performed toS221. It should be noted that, on this occasion, the user may beinformed, through display or voice, that the vehicle ID obtained fromthe vehicle does not match the vehicle ID obtained from the membershipcard or the mobile terminal, and/or that the user should perform thearrival acceptance processing again from the beginning.

When controller 210 determines that the vehicle IDs match (YES in S214),controller 210 cooperates with vehicle 100 to control vehicle 100 tomove to a vacant parking space 12 (S215). For example, controller 210specifies vacant parking space 12 with a camera provided to the parkinglot or the like, and transmits information including a map of theparking lot and position information such as the number,longitude/latitude, or the like of vacant parking space 12, to vehicle100. Control device 110 of vehicle 100 cooperates with navigation device180 to calculate a route to parking space 12 from the received map ofthe parking lot and position information of parking space 12, andcooperates with automated driving device 160 to cause vehicle 100 toautomatically travel along the calculated route and to be parked atparking space 12. It should be noted that the map of the parking lot maybe stored beforehand in storage 182 of navigation device 180.

Then, controller 210 checks that vehicle 100 is parked at parking space12, and thereafter stores the vehicle ID, the user ID, and the number ofparking space 12 in association with one another in storage 220 (S216).

FIG. 5 is a view for illustrating user vehicle information stored inparking-lot management server 200 of the present embodiment. Referringto FIG. 5, in S216 of FIG. 4, the vehicle ID, the user ID, and thenumber of parking space 12 are stored in association with one another instorage 220. It should be noted that, on this occasion, entry time isalso stored in association therewith.

Turning back to FIG. 4, next, payment acceptance processing performedwhen the user makes payment at store 10 in the commercial facility willbe described. Controller 310 of payment management server 300 determineswhether or not the user's membership card 191 or mobile terminal havingthe membership application installed therein is accepted by payment cardreader 390 placed at an entrance of a waiting line when the user standsin the waiting line for payment (S311). When controller 310 determinesthat membership card 191 or the mobile terminal having the membershipapplication installed therein is not accepted (NO in S311), controller310 returns the processing to be performed to a caller of thisprocessing.

On the other hand, when controller 310 determines that membership card191 or the mobile terminal having the membership application installedtherein is accepted (YES in S311), controller 310 obtains the user IDfrom the accepted membership card 191 or mobile terminal having themembership application installed therein (S312).

Next, controller 310 estimates a payment finish time for the user, fromthe number of people standing in the waiting line for payment (S313).For example, when an average time required by one person for payment isk minutes and n persons are standing in the waiting line, controller 310estimates that the payment finish time will be k×n (minutes). Theaverage time required by one person for payment can be modified tofurther adapt to the situation of store 10 by updating data for everypayment in store 10. In addition, the number of people standing in thewaiting line can be specified, for example, by issuing a ticket having anumber printed thereon at the entrance of the waiting line, andsubtracting the number of the ticket issued for the person currentlymaking payment from the number of the ticket issued for the last personin the line.

Then, controller 310 transmits payment finish information including theuser ID obtained in S312 and the payment finish time estimated in S313to parking-lot management server 200 (S314).

Controller 210 of parking-lot management server 200 determines whetheror not the payment finish information is received from paymentmanagement server 300 (S221). When controller 210 determines that thepayment finish information is not received (NO in S221), controller 210returns the processing to be performed to a caller of this processing.

When controller 210 determines that the payment finish information isreceived (YES in S221), controller 210 reads the vehicle IDcorresponding to the user ID included in the received payment finishinformation from the user vehicle information stored in storage 220shown in FIG. 5, and cooperates with vehicle 100 having the vehicle IDto control vehicle 100 to move from parking space 12 at which vehicle100 is parked to pick-up/drop-off place 11, by the payment finish timeincluded in the received payment finish information (S222).

Then, when vehicle 100 moves to pick-up/drop-off place 11, controller210 deletes the user vehicle information regarding the vehicle ID fromstorage 220 (S223), and returns the processing to be performed to thecaller of this processing.

[Variations]

(1) In the embodiment described above, the vehicle ID is different fromthe user ID, as shown in FIG. 5 and the like. The vehicle ID may beidentical to the user ID. In this case, in S216 of FIG. 4, one ID isstored, instead of storing the vehicle ID and the user ID in associationwith each other.

(2) In the embodiment described above, the vehicle ID and the user IDare stored in association with each other in storage 220 of parking-lotmanagement server 200, as indicated in S216 of FIG. 4. However, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto, and the vehicle ID and theuser ID may be stored in storage 320 of payment management server 300.

(3) In the embodiment described above, parking-lot management server 200and payment management server 300 are configured with separatecomputers, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. However, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto, and parking-lot management server 200 and paymentmanagement server 300 may be configured with one computer.

(4) In the embodiment described above, for automatic traveling control,unattended driving defined as “Level 5” is performed by automateddriving device 160 of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 3. However, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto, and the vehicle may travel byremote control from parking-lot management server 200. For example, theentire parking lot may be shot from above, and vehicle 100 may be causedto travel from pick-up/drop-off place 11 to parking space 12 by remotecontrol based on a shot image. In addition, a guidance track provided onthe ground surface of the parking lot may be configured to be read byvehicle 100, and vehicle 100 may be allowed to travel along the guidancetrack to parking space 12.

(5) In the embodiment described above, the processing shown in FIG. 4 isimplemented when software is executed by controllers 210, 310. However,the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the processing shownin FIG. 4 may be partly or entirely implemented by a dedicated hardwarecircuit.

(6) In the embodiment described above, the disclosure has been describedas vehicle management system 1. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto, and the disclosure can be considered as a vehiclemanagement method performed by vehicle management system 1. Thedisclosure can also be considered as a device such as a server such asparking-lot management server 200 or payment management server 300included in vehicle management system 1. Further, the disclosure can beconsidered as a method or a program performing the processing shown inFIG. 4 in a server such as parking-lot management server 200 or paymentmanagement server 300.

In addition, the disclosure can be considered as computer-readablerecording medium 251, 351 which records the program. This recordingmedium 251, 351 may be a medium which stationarily carries a program,including a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk or ahard disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM,a DVD-R, a DVD-RW, a DVD-RAM, a DVD+R, or a DVD+RW, a magneto-opticaldisk such as an MO, a memory card, a USB memory, or the like, or may bea medium which fluidly carries a program such that the program isdownloaded from a server such as an ASP (Application Service Provider)via a communication network.

(7) The techniques described in the embodiment and the variations areintended to be performed alone or in combination, as far as possible.

[Effects Obtained by Present Disclosure]

(1) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, vehicle management system 1 in accordancewith the present disclosure includes vehicle 100, and a commercialfacility management system including parking-lot management server 200and payment management server 300 for respectively managing a parkinglot and payment in a commercial facility. As shown in FIG. 3, thecommercial facility management system includes controllers 210, 310.Vehicle 100 includes control device 110. As indicated in S211 to S216 ofFIG. 4, controller 210 performs processing for associating vehicle 100with a user of vehicle 100 when vehicle 100 enters the parking lot. Asindicated in S311 to S314 and S221 to S222 of FIG. 4, controllers 210,310 cooperate with control device 110 of vehicle 100 associated with theuser to control vehicle 100 to travel from parking space 12 topick-up/drop-off place 11 for the user when the user finishes payment.

Thereby, vehicle 100 of the user travels to pick-up/drop-off place 11when the user finishes payment. As a result, the waiting time from whenthe user finishes payment until when the user gets in vehicle 100 can bereduced.

(2) As indicated in S215 of FIG. 4, controller 210 cooperates withcontrol device 110 of vehicle 100 to control vehicle 100 to travel frompick-up/drop-off place 11 to parking space 12 when vehicle 100 entersthe parking lot. Thereby, the user does not have to drive vehicle 100also when parking vehicle 100.

(3) As shown in FIG. 3, parking-lot management server 200 of thecommercial facility management system further includes storage 220. Asindicated in S216 of FIG. 4, controller 210 performs storage processingfor storing a vehicle ID of the vehicle and a user ID of the user inassociation with each other in storage 220, as the processing forassociating vehicle 100 with the user of vehicle 100. This can reliablyassociate the user ID with the vehicle ID of the user.

(4) As indicated in S213 and S216 of FIG. 4, controller 210 obtains theuser ID of the user stored beforehand in the user's membership card 191or mobile terminal having the membership application installed therein,and obtains the vehicle ID of vehicle 100 stored beforehand in storage112 of control device 110 of vehicle 100, to perform the storageprocessing. Thereby, the user ID and the vehicle ID of the user can beaccurately obtained.

(5) As indicated in S214 and S216 of FIG. 4, controller 210 obtains thevehicle ID of vehicle 100 of the user stored beforehand in the user'smembership card 191 or mobile terminal having the membership applicationinstalled therein, and performs the storage processing when the vehicleID obtained from membership card 191 or the mobile terminal matches thevehicle ID obtained from vehicle 100. This can prevent a vehicle whichis not vehicle 100 of the user from being associated with the user.

(6) As indicated in S311 to S314 and S221 to S222 of FIG. 4, when theuser stands in a waiting line for payment, controllers 310, 210 obtainthe user ID of the user stored beforehand in the user's membership card191 or mobile terminal having the membership application installedtherein, estimate a time at which the user will finish payment, andcontrol vehicle 100 to arrive at pick-up/drop-off place 11 at theestimated time. Thereby, vehicle 100 of the user can arrive atpick-up/drop-off place 11 when the user finishes payment. As a result,the waiting time from when the user finishes payment until when the usergets in vehicle 100 can be further reduced.

Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described, itshould be understood that the embodiment disclosed herein isillustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the scope of the claims, and isintended to include any modifications within the scope and meaningequivalent to the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is: 1-20. (canceled)
 21. A vehicle management system formanaging a vehicle which is controllable remotely, the vehiclemanagement system comprising a processor, the processor configured to:estimate a time at which a user will finish payment, the user waitingfor payment, the user being associated with the vehicle; and control thevehicle for the user to travel to a pick-up/drop-off place for the userso that the vehicle arrives at the pick-up/drop-off place at or beforethe estimated time.
 22. The vehicle management system according to claim21, wherein the processor is configured to associate the user with thevehicle when the vehicle enters at least a part of a commercialfacility.
 23. The vehicle management system according to claim 22,wherein the processor is configured to control the vehicle to travelfrom the pick-up/drop-off place to a parking place when the vehicleenters a parking lot.
 24. The vehicle management system according toclaim 21, further comprising a controller configured to control thevehicle remotely.
 25. The vehicle management system according to claim21, further comprising a storage, wherein the processor is configured toperform storage processing for storing identification information of thevehicle and identification information of the user in association witheach other in the storage.
 26. The vehicle management system accordingto claim 25, wherein the processor is configured to obtain theidentification information of the user stored beforehand in a recordingmedium of the user, and obtain the identification information of thevehicle stored beforehand in a storage of the vehicle, to perform thestorage processing.
 27. The vehicle management system according to claim26, wherein the processor is configured to obtain the identificationinformation of the vehicle of the user stored beforehand in therecording medium of the user, and perform the storage processing whenthe identification information obtained from the recording mediummatches the identification information obtained from the vehicle. 28.The vehicle management system according to claim 21, wherein theprocessor is configured to estimate the time at which the user willfinish payment at a commercial facility from a number of people standingin a waiting line for payment.
 29. The vehicle management systemaccording to claim 28, wherein the processor is configured to specifythe number of people standing in the waiting line for payment by issuinga ticket having a number printed thereon at a entrance of the waitingline, and subtracting the number of the ticket issued for a personcurrently making payment from the number of the ticket issued for a lastperson in the waiting line.
 30. The vehicle management system accordingto claim 21, further comprising a card reader configured to accept theuser's membership card when the user makes payment, wherein theprocessor is configured to cooperate with the card reader to identifythe user going to pay.
 31. A method for managing a vehicle which iscontrollable remotely, the method comprising: estimating, by a computer,a time at which a user will finish payment, the user waiting forpayment, the user being associated with the vehicle; and controlling, bythe computer, the vehicle for the user to travel to a pick-up/drop-offplace for the user so that the vehicle arrives at the pick-up/drop-offplace at or before the estimated time.
 32. The method according to claim31, further comprising associating, by the computer, the user with thevehicle when the vehicle enters at least a part of a commercialfacility.
 33. The method according to claim 32, further comprisingcontrolling, by the computer, the vehicle to travel from thepick-up/drop-off place to a parking place when the vehicle enters aparking lot.
 34. The method according to claim 31, further comprisingcontrolling, by the computer, the vehicle remotely.
 35. The methodaccording to claim 31, wherein the computer further includes a storage,and the method further comprises performing, by the computer, storageprocessing for storing identification information of the vehicle andidentification information of the user in association with each other inthe storage.
 36. The method according to claim 35, further comprisingobtaining, by the computer, the identification information of the userstored beforehand in a recording medium of the user, and obtaining, bythe computer, the identification information of the vehicle storedbeforehand in a storage of the vehicle.
 37. The method according toclaim 36, wherein the identification information obtained from therecording medium of the user is identification information of thevehicle of the user, and the performing the storage processing is donewhen the identification information obtained from the recording mediummatches the identification information obtained from the vehicle. 38.The method according to claim 31, wherein the estimated time is a timeat which the user will finish payment at a commercial facility from anumber of people standing in a waiting line for payment.
 39. The methodaccording to claim 38, further comprising specifying, by the computer,the number of people standing in the waiting line for payment by issuinga ticket having a number printed thereon at a entrance of the waitingline, and subtracting, by the computer, the number of the ticket issuedfor a person currently making payment from the number of the ticketissued for a last person in the waiting line.
 40. The method accordingto claim 31, wherein the computer is connected to a card readerconfigured to accept the user's membership card when the user makespayment, and the method further comprises cooperating, by the computer,with the card reader to identify the user going to pay.